FEATURE
July 2024
Cafe Phoenix
A Hyperlocal Love Story
Story and photos by Jessica Ashley Silva
When I moved to Humboldt just over 10 years ago, life became a series of rediscovery. Growing up in Southern California, there was a way of life that I’ve been working for years to dismantle as I became a northerner. I traded in multi-laned freeways which criss-crossed and sprawled in every direction past giant shopping centers, housing developments and concrete for the tallest trees, endless beaches and farmland. The way I ate was, perhaps, one of the biggest transformations I made when settling into Humboldt. Eating local and in-season food, shaking the hands of the person who grew it — these things weren’t the norm in SoCal, with the prominence of chain food on every corner, lacking in love and full of corporate flavor.
The Cafe Phoenix menu features ingredients from local growers and makers.
A fresh collaboration from Cafe Phoenix and Humboldt Juice Works.
In the summer of 2015, about a year after I moved to Humboldt, Café Phoenix opened in Northtown Arcata. It was a small and unassuming restaurant, a bus-your-own table and help-yourself-to-some-water type, with specials written on a blackboard that rotated based on what was in season. Everything was fresh and veggie-centric, but still catered to us meat-and-potato types with smart portions of bacon here and dairy there. It was, admittedly, the first time I ate a breakfast loaded with veggies and greens, and, looking back, it was the earliest influence on how I shifted the way I cooked for myself at home.
Nearly nine years later, Café Phoenix has evolved into a Northtown staple, offering a larger menu than in the early days, with expanded seating outside in the lush backyard garden, teeming with flowers, herbs and berries used in the kitchen. What hasn’t changed is the ethos owner Conny Peña brought to the restaurant when she opened it. Peña, former owner of Wildflower Café, opened Café Phoenix with local values for responsible sourcing in mind. “My biggest thing was to take the thinking out of where your food is coming from, to create a place where you can trust that it’s been thoughtfully sourced, that it’s organic and sustainable,” she says.
It’s a mission made possible with our temperate climate, and a bountiful farming and cottage-food business community. Peña, another SoCal native turned Humboldtian since 1991, has forged a menu of the freshest ingredients from local growers and makers, like produce from Wild Rose Farm, Deep Seeded Farm, Flora Organica and Green Spiral Farm, the latter two of which are certified organic. The toast that accompanies many of the café’s dishes comes from Josh Fox Bread, a small-batch cottage operation of handcrafted and naturally leavened breads, sliced thick, hearty and crusty in all their glory.
Café Phoenix offers breakfast and lunch, with in-house baked goods and a slew of healthy smoothies, wellness drinks, coffees and teas. One of the newer additions to the menu, the Turkish eggs, is a serious knock-your-socks off bowl of goodness. Its layers of flavor begin with a savory and herby Greek yogurt base, topped with fresh tomatoes, peppery arugula, white onion, salty Kalamata olives and feta, poached eggs, and a choice of andouille sausage or avocado (do yourself a favor and add both). It’s served with a side of Josh Fox toast to scrape up every last bit of yolk and yogurt.
Turkish eggs accompanied by sausage, arrugula and Josh Fox toast.
For something lighter, try an açaí bowl, with crunchy house granola over yogurt, with fresh fruit, a drizzle of honey and bee pollen (bonus points if you sit in the garden while you eat so you can thank the pollinators buzzing about). And for something heartier, try the Phoenix potatoes, a popular dish of large coins of breakfast potatoes layered with melty cheese, a couple of poached eggs, topped with a scoop each of fresh salsa and chimichurri, and a choice of sausage or avocado. Café Phoenix has a way of elevating even something as simple as potatoes and eggs. Every component is executed with care, thoughtful seasoning and the right texture; it just feels right when you eat it.
Stop in for breakfast and try some newness — Café Phoenix and Humboldt Juice Works have partnered to serve a rotating menu of fresh cold-pressed concoctions to accompany your meal. Try the Summer’s Remedy, a blend of strawberry, pineapple, celery, cucumber and apple juices, perfect for cutting through a salty and savory breakfast. Later this year, Peña plans to launch grab-and-go options in a cold case, where you can not only grab a cold-pressed juice and something to munch on, but also bottled dressings and sauces to bring some of that Café Phoenix and Humboldt flavor home.
Cafe Phoenix
1360 G St, Arcata, CA 95521
(707) 630-5021
facebook.com/cafephoenixarcata
The Phoenix potatoes, loaded with poached eggs, avocado, salsa and chimichurri.